Rs 30 million worth opium seized from textile businessman in Bangalore

The Bangalore police has arrested a small time textile businessman, who was possessing almost 9 kilograms of opium worth Rs 30 million in the market.

Acting on a tip-off, the Bangalore police nabbed 46-year-old Prabhuram while he was trying to sell opium near Tulasi Park in Upparpet police station limits on Tuesday.

“He was caught trying to sell one kilogram of opium, which he was carrying in a bag. The remaining contraband was recovered from his house in Arakere on Bannerghatta Road in the City. We have seized a total of 8.7 kilograms of opium worth Rs 30 million from him”, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bangalore West, P Harishekaran told reporters.

Prabhuram, who is a native of Jodhpur in Rajasthan, resides at Arakere in Bangalore along with his family. He runs a textile shop in the same area.

During interrogation, Prabhuram confessed that the contraband was meant for wholesale dealers, who regularly bought the drug from him. He also revealed that he obtained the consignment from his contacts in Madhya Pradesh and that he has been engaged in the illegal trade of drugs for the last two years.

“He used to get the contraband from one Ramesh in Madhya Pradesh once a year. Their meeting place was Santhoshi Mata temple in Arakere. Prabhuram would call Ramesh on the phone and place the order before collecting the consignment at the designated place and time”, said a police officer investigating the matter.

Apart from wholesale dealers of drugs, Prabhuram’s clients also included students, particularly the ones studying in professional colleges. Police is also on the lookout for Ramesh from whom he received the contraband. The Bangalore police had stumbled upon this drug racket after nabbing one of Prabhuram’s wholesale dealers in the City recently.

Meanwhile, S Davidson, Director of Narcotics Control Bureau, South Zone, has said that the opium would in all probability have been smuggled to extract heroin – a far more potent drug than opium. According to Davidson, one kilogram of heroin is extracted from 10 kilograms of opium.